Foam Crib Mattress and Vomit...

[MrsCravendale]

Our wee boy (2 wks old) has been struggling with the whole burping part of feeding time and quite often about 10-20mins after feeding, when he has settled and been put back in the crib, he possets some milk. He burped up quite a lot last night and it has soaked through to the foam mattress.

This may be a stupid question but I am a 1st time mum and have read too much about "buy a new mattress if the baby is sick on it" because of SIDS but we cant afford to be buying a new mattress every time.

Can I just stick the mattress in the wash and get it dried thoroughly? It is just a foam crib mattress...

Thanks for any advice

No advice on what to do if it has been puked on already but we have a waterproof fitted sheet underneath the fitted sheet (from John Lewis but sure you can get them anywhere). Means the mattress is always safe and can just wash the sheets instead. I have a family of pukey babies so was not taking the risk!!!

If your worried throw it out because you'll only continue to worry about it.

I would recommend Kiddicares foam mattresses because they are quite cheap and they have an outer layer that can be taken off and washed.

If not, buy a waterproof sheet.

Congratulations btw.

I used to put towel under the sheet to soak up the puke, as my son was always sick in the crib!

If your crib is too small to be able to get waterproof sheets for (I have a moses basket and a cot so couldn't get waterproof sheets for the moses basket, don't know if they do crib ones sorry), invest in a large packet of muslins and a large packet of terry towelling nappies. They come in really useful for all sorts of things and if you layer several on top of the sheet you can just whip one or two off when he's been sick and pop him back down without needing to remake the crib up and end up with a large pile of sheets to wash. If you alternate muslins and nappies there will be a nice smooth surface for baby to lie on and a more absorbent layer underneath...

The only thing I haven't used my terry nappies for is as nappies I think . And now I have ds2 who is only 16 days, I have already sent dh out to get another packet of them (containing a dozen!) as we are getting through them so quickly as I still end up using them for all sorts of things with ds1.

And if you do get a waterproof sheet - get a couple and make sure they are fitted. As soon as baby starts wriggling around it will mean the waterproof sheet will get all wrinkled and out of place underneath them. Also the ones that are waterproof on one side and either flannelette or towelling on the other are nice as they are not sweaty for the baby to be on. You need at least two as if the sick has soaked through you'll need to take it off to wash before putting clean sheets back on. Once I had ds1 in a cot it was one of the best investments I ever made - 3 waterproof backed fitted sheets - made life so much easier. Especially when I compared it with my sister who was convinced by her dh that they were an unnecessary luxury and who struggled with needing to do mountains of washing to a tight schedule.

good luck!